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ZANU-PF Politburo member and stalwart of the liberation struggle, Colonel (Retired) Tshinga Dube, who died on Thursday last week, will be remembered as a decorated war veteran and revered figure in the country’s liberation history.
He died at the age of 83 following kidney failure.
Born Othiniel Siduduzo Dube on July 3, 1941 at Fort Usher in Matobo District, Matabeleland South, Col (Rtd) Dube became involved in politics at a young age, joining the liberation movement in the 1960s.
His first encounter with colonial injustice was in 1953 when his family was forcibly moved from Matopo to Hwange. He had most of his exposure to nationalism when he was in Standard Six at Solusi Mission and in 1957, he bought his membership card for the Southern Rhodesian African National Congress.
He sold copies of the Bantu Mirror and had the opportunity to hear Benjamin Burombo address people in beer halls.
Col (Rtd) Dube was also exposed to Drum, Parade and Time publications. Africa had also started to taste freedom starting with Ghana.
He took part in his first strike at Solusi.
In 1961, Col (Rtd) Dube left Solusi destined for Ghana via Zambia. He entered the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1962 and went to Lubumbashi where he aborted his trip after heavy fighting in the city. He returned to Zambia and was employed in a shop in Ndola before he relocated to Luanshya where he sold bicycles.
In 1963, he joined the grass root cells of the Zapu branch in Ndola and served as its secretary while recruiting new members. In July 1964, he was sent by Zapu to the Silver Forest Academy in the then Soviet Union (Russia) for military training.
He joined Cdes Phelekezela Mphoko, Ambrose Mutinhiri, Robson Manyika, Dumiso Dabengwa, Goldman Gombakomba, Wilfred Mlala and Ethan Dube who were already undergoing training. Col (Rtd) Dube underwent guerrilla training in specialties such as tactics, light arms and higher armaments.
After nine months of training, he was selected for a communications programme,which was thorough on sound electronics. After completing the signals course, he remained in Russia as an instructor for future Zapu arrivals until the end of 1965 when he returned to Zambia where he joined the Inkomo Camp.
In 1966, he and 11 others were tasked to cross the Zambezi River into Zimbabwe to attack the Rhodesian post in Tsholotsho and managed to do so but were eventually cornered and forced to retreat into
Botswana where Col (Rtd) Dube worked illegally as a teacher.
He was arrested and sentenced to one year in jail after he dropped his pistol while picking up a chalk.
After serving his sentence, he and his fellow comrades, who had also been arrested were repatriated to Zambia where he was commanding the recruiting camp at Luthuli.
In 1968, he was the commander at Kalowa Camp. He then joined the Zipra High Command as Chief of Communications and helped map out routes for joint Zapu-ANC incursions into the country.
On March 11, 1971 Col (Rtd) Dube and other members of the Zapu High Command were arrested and detained during an attempted coup staged by malcontents that wanted to effect a change in the leadership of the party.
Two weeks later, they were rescued and taken to Mboroma, 400km northeast of Lusaka, where they languished for months surviving on locusts.
He managed to study and sit for his A- levels. In June 1971, he was sent to Mbeya, Tanzania, to deal with the diversion of Zapu arms to Zanu.
In September 1973, he returned to Russia on a Zapu assignment arranged by Cde Dabengwa and Cde Jason Ziyapapa Moyo. On arrival in Moscow, he was taken to Madi University where he was offered a place to study electro-technic engineering and became the party’s de facto student’s representative.
Col (Rtd) Dube was a part-time radio announcer on Radio Moscow. In mid-1976, he flew back to Zambia to meet Cde Joshua Nkomo and other Zapu leaders after their release from prison.
He returned to Russia two weeks later and continued to engage Zapu students on developments back home.
Col (Rtd) Dube graduated with a Master of Science degree (engineering) in electro-technics.
In July 1979, he returned to Zambia before the Lancaster House talks and was appointed Chief of Communications in the Zipra Communications Department.
He was also tasked with spreading the word about the end of the war after the conclusion of the Lancaster House conference.
Col (Rtd) Dube returned home on December 31, 1979 and landed at the then Salisbury International Airport (now Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport) with Cdes Dumiso Dabengwa, Lookout Masuku, Tjile Nleya and Phillip Valerio Sibanda and was based in Mt Pleasant.
He joined the Ceasefire Commission whose members visited assembly points across the country and helped with the integration of the Zanla and Zipra forces into the national army. In 1981, he was appointed Commander of the Signals Corps.
In 1982, he travelled to Tanzania with the then Minister of Defence, Sydney Sekeramayi, on a recruitment drive of operators, technicians and instructors. He also travelled to other countries to source equipment for the Zimbabwe National Army.
In 1982, he was assigned together with the late General Vitalis Zvinavashe to deploy two companies of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) at Mafoka in Mozambique during the Renamo era.
He left the ZDF in 1989 and joined the Ministry of Defence as deputy secretary responsible for research and development in 1990. His role and that of the department was to expedite studies and inquiries into problems that affected the armed struggle.
He left the Ministry of Defence in 1994 to join Zimbabwe Defence Industries as general manager. Col (Rtd) Dube also spearheaded the introduction of garrison shops within military barracks for the first time in the country’s history.
He mooted the sale of food rations to other African countries by the ZDI. In 1996, he was appointed to serve on the advisory board of the United Nations Disarmament Commission.
Col (Rtd) Dube facilitated the overthrow of Mobuto Sese Seko after the ZDI was contracted by Rwanda to supply arms to the troops of the late DRC President Laurent Desire Kabila.
He also facilitated the entry of Zimbabwe in the DRC war. He oversaw the commissioning of the high-explosive filling plant in Domboshava on February 16, 1995 and in 1997, he was appointed to the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
He was instrumental in pushing for Zimbabwean businesses to explore the DRC market after the war.
He was also instrumental in the capture of Colonel Simon Mann and his group of mercenaries in Harare in 2004.
Col (Rtd) Dube joined Zanu-PF in 1987 after the Unity Accord.
He entered the political fray in 2007 and participated as Zanu-PF candidate for Makokoba constituency in the 2008 election but lost to Thokozani Khupe.
He was appointed a member of the Zanu-PF Central Committee in December 2009. In 2010, he became a Politburo member.
He was later appointed Marange Resources chairman in March 2012.
In 2013, he lost the election for Makokoba National Assembly seat to Mr Gorden Moyo of MDC-T in 2013.
He finally won the Makokoba seat during by-elections that were held in June 2015 and was appointed Deputy Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators and Former Political Detainees in September of the same year.
He replaced Cde Chris Mutsvangwa as Minister of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators and Former Political Detainees in March 2016 and lost the position after a Cabinet reshuffle in October 2017.
Col (Rtd) Dube took a back seat in active politics after the 2018 harmonised elections.
He sat on the board of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) for eight years and he was deputy chairman of TelOne for seven years. He was also the Zimbabwe Football Trust chairperson.
His Awards
l Independence Medal
l Liberation Medal
l 10-year Exemplary Service Medal
l Mozambique Campaign Medal
l SADC-DRC Campaign Medal
l Grand Order of Merit
l USSR Military Training Medal
Col (Rtd) Dube was a long-time supporter and benefactor of Highlanders Football Club. He was also involved in the development of Makokoba.
Col (Rtd) Dube was influential in bringing Michael Jackson to Zimbabwe in November 1998.
He brought in Freddy Gwala and Platform One from South Africa to perform for free ahead of the 2013 elections.
Col (Rtd) Dube also sponsored the Mafela Trust, which aimed at collating Zapu liberation war history.
He was involved in cattle ranching and was previously involved in horse and dog racing.
“It is true that a lot happened in history but we should not stay there forever. We cannot resurrect those who died, even if they died in a bad way,” Col (Rtd) Dube said while addressing supporters during a campaign rally in Makokoba constituency Bulawayo in 2013.
“I don’t think we have taken our sport seriously. Maybe in future our President will have a Sports Ministry, so that sports can have its own budget.”— Col (Rtd) Dube speaking during a Zimbabwe Football Trust fundraising campaign launch in 2013.
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